This invention relates to extermination of insects by the use of heat. While it is applicable to a wide range of insect life, its most important application at the present time is in the extermination of termites in existing structures, and is an exercise in urban entymology.
All insect life, including termites, has a temperature range within which it can survive and thrive. Temperatures appreciably outside of this range are lethal, and temperatures which are outside of the range but still close to it will be lethal if maintained for a long enough period of time. The causes of death vary from insect to insect, and also are frequently temperature dependent. Very high temperatures will melt or crack the wax layer carried by many insects, and then they dehydrate and die. At lesser but still pertinent temperatures there may be a different cause of death. The precise mechanism by which the insect perishes is of no particular interest to the invention, but the fact that the insect perishes is the very point, and that it is killed without harm to the structure or to people who utilize the structure.
The use of elevated temperatures to kill insects avoids the risks and inconveniences of using toxic gases in fumigation techniques. There is no need to use anything but atmospheric air or other friendly gases, so that clean up after the process is unnecessary. The equipment is conventional and is operable by persons of few skills. Preparation for use in an occupied structure involves no more than removal of temperature sensitive material such as candles, and sometimes the placing of insulation matts.
This is a novel, effective, economical and safe means for exterminating insects.